After many controversies surrounding players' racist and homophobic remarks, the CBS reality show ended last night with, after fifteen seasons, its first openly LGBT winner.

26-year-old Andy Herren last night emerged as the winner of this summer's Big Brother reality TV spectacle. The season had been marred by racist, homophobic and otherwise derogatory comments made by many of the show's contestants — for the first time ever, episodes ran with a disclaimer stating that their views did not reflect the network's. CBS president Les Moonves labeled many of the houseguests' actions as "absolutely appalling."

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So Herren's victory — well-deserved strategically — likely comes as a particular relief to Big Brother's beleaguered production staff. His two fellow finalists had been responsible for many of the comments considered most offensive; runner-up GinaMarie Zimmermann's repeated slurs saw her fired before the show had reached mid-season. (Another player, Aaryn Gries, also lost her jobs and modeling contracts.)

That said, with the contestants now all out of sequester, look for apologetic statements and teary TV appearances — while Big Brother's no longer watching, its fans sure still are.